EKSA have scored incredibly favourably with Cubed3 in the past due to their high performance, build quality and most importantly, reasonable price bracket. Previous criticisms have focused on the design aesthetic more than anything else but with the latest release of the EKSA Air Joy Plus Gaming Headphones it seems these previous issues have been addressed and what remains is a contender for a top budget ear blaster.
As with previous models, the first thing to notice out of the box is the weight, or lack of it. These ear warmers are super light and ensure that you will still be sat in the full upright position in neck comfort hours into playing. With such a light feel it’s a testament to the build quality EKSA put into these things that, as with the Air Joy Pros previously reviewed, they seem to be in just as good condition as the day the came out of the box. This is around 3 weeks of daily use but if anything like their other brother, will be just as sturdy after a few months.
As a man with a head shape that can only be described as ‘regular’, the whole setup feels comfortable on the skull with no real pressure from any part of the frame. There’s no sign of that weird jaw uncomfortableness either which sometimes crops up. Earbuds cover both fine allowing full advantage of the virtual surround sound and noise cancelling benefits.
Gone are the 90’s energy drink rad designs in favour of a subtler, but by far more impressive, grille LED design. These things will pulse with a bold red anytime in use, giving the impression of a burning flame under the cover. All the standard adjustment buttons can be found on the earcup with a volume slider and a nice chunky mute button with some reassuring kickback when pressed.
So, with all the design choices getting a firm thumbs up, what kind of sound quality do the EKSA Air Joy Plus Gaming Headphones provide? Again, it seems bass is the real focus with the most emphasis on pounding out those low thuds. Environmental sounds however can be picked out quite easily for all the first-person shooters, thinking they are Matt Murdock and can detect by Sonar alone. The virtual surround works well, especially at such a low price point.
Sensibly moving with the times, connecting via a USB-C connection and with what feels like a slightly unnecessary 12 foot extender cable (a lot of veteran gamers wont be able to read a single text box at that distance) the Air Joys will be compatible with pretty much any console or PC in this day and age. If you do have access to a PC however there is a Windows based app that can twiddle the settings as you would see fit.
